The Sweetgrass Inn at Wild Dunes Resort welcomed a full house of eager attendees for a spring luncheon featuring award-winning chef, author, and restaurateur Vivian Howard, in conversation with Isle of Palms author and resident, Mary Alice Monroe.
The luncheon marked a celebration of food and literature and is part of the Wild Dunes Literary Series, which offers an intimate and unique literary experience each season, four times a year. Howard, whose family roots run deep in rural North Carolina, transported the audience to the landscapes of her childhood and the creative kitchens of her renowned restaurants.
The dining experience featured a serve-yourself buffet on the rooftop terrace of the Sweetgrass Inn, against the backdrop of a stunning ocean view. The Wild Dunes culinary team served several recipes from Howard’s cookbooks, including shrimp succotash salad, muscadine-braised chicken, and rice-crusted catfish with cilantro lime sweet corn. Each dish offered a taste of Howard's culinary heritage, rounded off with a blueberry buttermilk lime parfait.
Monroe described the event as "divine." The New York Times bestselling author also stated, "Vivian is a wonder and delighted the crowd with stories and charm. I'm a die-hard fan!"
After the meal, Monroe led a lively discussion with Howard about the influence of her rural upbringing in her restaurants and her cookbooks, her emergence into the culinary world, and the creation and evolution of her restaurants in Charleston, SC, and Kinston, NC. After the conversation between Howard and Monroe, the audience got a chance to ask Howard questions too.
The event wrapped up with guests mingling around the Buxton Books pop-up shop, to purchase books by Howard and Monroe, and then time in the signing line waiting for book inscriptions and brief one-on-one conversations and photos together between readers and writers. Guests walked away with more than just a meal and new recipes to enjoy at home. The spring luncheon proved to be a feast for the soul.
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Anticipation already builds for the upcoming summer and fall events, all listed on Mary Alice Monroe's website at maryalicemonroe.com. Be sure to check back frequently, as tickets will soon be available for the summer children's literary event. This special occasion will celebrate the launch of Shipwrecked, the third and final installment in The Islanders trilogy—an event not to be missed for young readers and longtime fans alike.
For more on the New York Times Best-Selling Author, go to mylolowcountry.com and check out: 3 Days with Mary Alice Monroe: Take the Behind-the-Scenes Tour.
